The 2016 Election Is Already Compromised

Massive Scam Vote Rigging Underway

Normally I write opinion. This article is news, with some imagination thrown in to extend it in ways that ought to frighten your socks off.

A huge effort is already underway to control the 2016 election. It is well thought out, well funded and persuasive. It is vote-rigging by a masked organization with sophistication, scope and brazenness that is mind-boggling.

The market for the scam is people in outlying markets who live in poverty and have one important thing that stokes their passions above all other things: hope for something better. They need money desperately.

Imagination. What do you think their response might be when an auntie, or even an acquaintance of an acquaintance, stops by and gives them an official application form to become a beneficiary of the Marcos wealth? The application says that if you join us, we can “make our country great again!”

“It doesn’t cost you any thing and if you join, you will be given a share of the secret Marcos billions.”

Hope.

Money.

In another locality, the story is different.

“It is Yolanda typhoon relief from foreigners. They will pay us for 25 years.”

Fact. People are signing up in huge numbers. It is a sign of the need, of the gullibility, of the hope that poor people are left with when all other doors are closed to them. In the communities I am aware of, intelligent people are signing up. Old people. Young people. Barangay officials – who fuel the enthusiasm.

There is no cost. What’s the downside?

Perhaps 80 percent of all registered voters have joined this organization.

If you ask them, “who is sponsoring it”?

“I don’t know.”

If you ask them, “did you provide your voter’s ID number”?

“Yes.”

The application form, sponsored by some nebulous organization called “Bullion Buyer LTD”, is headed “Personal Information Sheet, Beneficiaries”. The amount of detail requested is mind-boggling. Every piece of information government typically requires including Voter’s ID number, family members, education, employment and even character references. And a photograph.

The notions of “privacy” and “identity theft” are not known here. “Togetherness”, doing what others are doing, determines what people think. And they are thinking this is okay. Almost everyone is filling out the form.

What do you think will be done with the information that is collected?

I can only imagine:

When the election comes, “beneficiaries” will be told how to vote to get their cash.

The information will be used to concoct fake Voter ID cards, and votes will be cast by hired hands.

The lists will form a database of people who are either for us or against us, and intimidation will be used to control the election.

Well, my imagination goes beyond what I actually know. But I know recruitment is rushing through outlying barangays like a firestorm.

My imagination . . . it wanders and wonders about who would do this? Who has the money and organization to do a regional vote-rigging scam of magnificent proportions?

My imagination goes to a group of powerful people who band together to organize a “soft coup” via the 2016 elections. They no longer control the military. But, together, they have untold wealth and untold power. And they can get elected.

Know anybody who fits that description?

I can imagine these good old boys – and maybe even ladies – forming a collusive network promising each other reinstatement to the highest posts of government. Legally and officially, on the hopes of the masses. You in jail? Pardons are forthcoming. You under attack by DOJ? We’ll call off the dogs.

Perhaps these super-gangsters have agreed to siphon off millions of taxpayer pesos to fund vote-buying on a scale never before seen in even the loosey goosey Philippines. Garci will be a minor player compared to the scale of this effort.

The attraction must be intoxicating to those shuffled aside by the Aquino good-governance agenda. Assurance of gaining or remaining in power. Being a part of the winning team. Togetherness as Filipinos love to experience it. With awesome power.

Conscience has nothing to do with this. My imagination says this is bare-faced expediency sponsored by a lot of big-shot people who are broken . . . unless they resurrect themselves.

And after the deed is successfully done, they will laugh at how they played so many people for fools.

Would you fill out the form?

If you were desperately poor and wanted some love and money, would you?

Fact: Thousands of people are filling out the form, and joining in hope.

Comments

I read about this before and it is a scam. The “agents” charge an “ATM card fee” of P300 upwards. People are told that they are going to use the personal info to open a bank account for them so the money could be deposited in their name and they will be mailed the ATM card to withdraw the funds. The form fillers are also asked to recruit others they want to share wealth with. Here is a related news: http://www.philstar.com/metro/2013/03/23/922972/2-scam-suspects-face-estafa-raps

Could they use the info to rig the 2016 election? The info gathered is extensive as they are also asking for birth certificates, marriage certificates, photos and other personal documents with the form. I’ll say yes. As Joe said, someone could compile a database from all the form fillers info and use that database for evil purposes such as creation of voting profiles/ID. I am skeptical that this has something to do with politics though. I think it is just a plain old scam.

I appreciate the background, Dee. I wasn’t aware of this. If it is a scam, it is about as scurrilous as they come, targeting the poor, not the moneyed. And the meetings here are being held on the Barangay Captain’s property. Thanks for the links. In a way, I hope it is the same program. Theft of money is not as harmful as theft of a nation.

And I shall persist in worrying about the ways of the Estradas and Marcoses . . . and others . . .

I am wondering if NBI is following up on this? If this so widespread shouldn’t they be investigating who is behind this scam? Even if there is no money involved, these people who are collecting personally identifiable information are still in violation of the Data Privacy Act: http://www.gov.ph/2012/08/15/republic-act-no-10173/

There is a commenter from Biliran in the Facebook link. I guess your neighbors need to learn about identity theft and data privacy.

Scamming the poor is despicable. If only we can harness that scam machination and turn it into something positive. They are interfacing with the segment that we want to reach.

Yes, I do worry about the scammers in public offices and their cronies too.

*******
I was just thinking that the data elements are too rich, the data requirements too elaborate, and the scheme too widespread to be a simple scam.

Could it be that this scam is a scam within a scam?

I mean the scam is partly designed to appear like a scam to mislead people into thinking that it is just a third-order scam, but it is really a first-order scam the real purpose of which is to acquire accurate data on a massive scale to form part of a central database that will be used for… Well, what is the most lucrative business in the country right now where the return of investment (ROI) is so high in billions of pesos and the investment period is as short as one political term?

*******
1. Question: If this application form were only for election-rigging purposes, why not bribe a Comelec employee to duplicate the registry of voters?
1.1. Answer 1: Because the Comelec database is not this data-rich in terms of number of discrete elements. The database would only need: voter ID, name, address, date of birth, and perhaps civil status.
1.2. Answer 2: The application form requests complete bio-data; contact data; civil/religious statuses; spouse data; generational data (parents and children); educational data; employment data; references; and signature.

2. Question: Why is the form not only data-rich, but strives to ensure data accuracy through external and internal verification checks? What checks?
2.1. Answer – external checks: The form is handed out by barangay officers or community leaders who would personally hand out the forms to known and familiar applicants.
2.2. Answer – internal checks: the form requires a photo, character references, a referral person, and signature. The only thing missing are biometric authentication identifiers, such as fingerprints.

3. Question: How is the data stored and used?
3.1. Answer 1: In a computer.
3.2. Answer 2: It would have to be in a computer so that the data can be processed for whatever purpose. Note the possible demographic classifications: age, sex, civil status, geography, religion, hobbies, income bracket (as derived from educational attainment and occupation).
3.3. Answer 3: In a first-world country, this data would be a marketer’s wet dream. In a third-world country, it would be a politician’s.

4. Question: How widespread is the scam? What is the target volume?
4.1. Answer 1: It seems to be spreading nationwide.
4.2. Answer 2: Even if only 50% of adults fill up an application form, that would be a controlling majority.
4.3. Answer 3: If the barangay captains can use this info to make checklists, the political impact would be enormous for elections and charter referenda. Vote-buying budgets would be able to be calculated with great precision. Gifts in kind could be tailored to specific hobbies. Politicians with tablet-carrying aides would be able to ask how your parents/children are by name. Transparent social media comments in support of a lady senator? What for when they can send you an email with a personal touch.

5. I don’t think the key to the puzzle is following the money. It’s follow the data.

6. Be afraid. Be very afraid. This is not only Big Brother watching you. It’s Big Brother smothering you with specially targeted love – love of the controlling and suffocating kind.
*****

Obama’s reelection machination was high tech. It harnessed information through data mining algorithms. Its genius lies in an army of geeks with predictive analysis simmered down to high art and (almost) exact science. As I said before in these forums, I believe it was his secret weapon for winning a reelection.

*******
1. The enterprise seems to be widespread with differing guises and techniques. Sometimes upfront fees are charged; sometimes not.
1.1. Could be that there are several nefarious ends including JoeAm’s scenarios.
1.2. The election scenarios would be more plausible than the actual Marcos victim compensation scheme as the claimant list of 10,000 has been already formed (?).

2. What it reminds me of is the Napoles’ practice of “padding” supporting documents with names drawn from government exams lists. The application form will certainly provide a solid basis and goldmine for padding or for election-rigging purposes.

3. The comments in the Facebook post are amusing in people hedging their bets. Reminds me of Joseph’s observation of the “playing it safe” mentality. “Yeah, it’s a scam but I’ll fill up the form… you know, just in case it’s true.”

The Philippine Media is already bought and sold by PDAF fund. That is why they are pointing their fingers on former retired marine Major Napoles despite PHilippine Marine Academy do not have extensive Corporate Law 101. Retired marine Major Napoles seems to have brilliance in sham after scam, fake corporations and sham NGOs. The Philippine Media is protecting Tanda, Pogi and Sexy by diverting the attention of poor less analytical Filipinos to Napoles.

deLima is afraid of Napoles. She declined her application for State Witness to protect Tanda, Pogi and Sexy. Now the can of worms has multiplied. THE PHILIPPINE MEDIA IS INVOLVED!

THE PHILIPPINE MEDIA is pushing for war against China to end the PDAF scam once and for all while they are in the U.S. picking up cans. The columnists will be the first to be in the States at the first shot of Chinese water cannons.

Looks like Philippine Media will be rooting for Binay because they are co-equal.

This election all boils down WHO GETS TO BUY PHILIPPINE MEDIA and WHERE PHILIPPINE MEDIA STANDS ON PDAF.

This election will be about PDAF and what candidate that can protect them from it.

Joe, Plaza Miranda 1971 comes to mind. Deja vu all over again. Probably proportionate to 60 million population increase from that year! So, who profits? Follow the money, so they say? Who is strong enough? Wily enough? A little before martial Law in 1972, it was unthinkable. But now, there are more permutations and combinations and such amoral brazenness! PDAF has shown there is money “in them thar hills” for the taking.

Until the super-thieves are stripped of power, and denied elected office, they have the wherewithal to APPLY the money they have accumulated to stay in power. It boggles my mind that Senator Estrada’s name is being bandied about for a presidential or vice presidential run. It borders on negligent to me that no Ombudsman charge has been forthcoming, and no Ethics Committee meeting has been held. I think Ms. Morales should be sharply challenged as to why no action has been taken on the three senatorial plunder charges.

DOJ has already filed PLUNDER charges against Enrile, Revilla and Estrada in Ombudsman. The Ombudsman will determine if there is probable cause to the charges filed against the three senators. If ombudsman found probable cause it will thenbe filed in SANDIGAN BAYAN (an anti graft court). Since plunder is a non-bailable offense, the 3 stoogies will have their days in court while the case in on trial. Just like GMA, she is in detention because of plunder. I hope the ombudsman will file it ASAP.

Well, I am locked into western notions of speed and forthright decisioning. Laws mandate it. It is odd to me that some people like Ms. Arroyo are locked up for years without a substantive case being made, which makes it look like a political jailing. And the three amigos have had DOJ charges filed but are roaming free and doing privilege speeches undermining the existing government. Whatever it is, it seems in contravention of human rights and/or good professional practices. I’m disappointed. If there is no case, give the innocent people the relief they deserve. If she is waiting for a signal, what a horrid politicization of the justice process. If she is too lazy and incompetent (which I don’t believe), then fire her. If she does not yet have enough information, then fire the current crop of investigators and hire some US prosecuting attorneys. They are obsessed vultures at locking up deserving crooks.

The overall descriptor, no matter the excuse or reason, is “dysfunctional”. In the western value set.

Morales has no case. Period. They are still trolling for witnesses that can pile on affidavits. In all newspaper reports, “evidences” has not been mentioned not even COA reports. In Philippine Hustisya Matuwid “EVIDENCES” equates to witnesses as evidences and Affidavits as incontrovertible evidences.

They do not have nothing. They even offer witnesses out-of-jail pass and the loot for their taking in exchange for Affidavits.

Of course, they are waiting for head honcho in Malacanang to give signal because he is also implicated in vote-buying and senate-jury tampering in the name of Daan Matuwid.

As to competency? Well, I just wonder who are competent in the Philippines. Instead of the Senate waiting for NBI to do their “evidence gathering” they wanted the limelight first in the name of “aid of legislation”. By this time the prosecution and investigation is already sooooo screwed that the defendants has already spun their yarn so tight that Morales cannot peentrate it.

Why they are doing this? So Tanda Johnny, Bong Sexy and Pogi will go home free and Napoles will end up holding the empty bag.

Daan Matuwid and Hustisya Matuwid is just a ruse a mirage. But so far it appears there is “justice” depending on which side of the fence you are on.

The interesting thing is that two of the accused have been absolutely silent about being accused of plunder. If they were innocent, I rather think they would be screaming at the Ombudsman “put up or shut up, lady”. They’d WANT the accusation and information out on the table to rebut it or explain it. But they remain quiet. They have not even tried to explain what happened to the money that passed through their offices on the way out. And back again.

Innocent? By their silence, you get the hint, JoeAm. But as they say it is not what one believes, thinks, or knows; it is what can be proved in court.

PNoy is said to have also dealt with Napoles NGOs in several projects in a few towns in Tarlac as a Congressman and Senator. He would have put out the information on the table to rebut accusations of hypocrisy and establish moral ascendancy, but no. His PDAF documents instead went totally inaccessible.

Point taken. I think the President is tippy-toeing around some very delicate matters which may affect him and his friends and family, which is why FOI is not on the front burner. But the getting from A to B, where A is an entire society of power-mongers dealing in favors at the edge of the law, and B is a clean, pure, law-based society, there has to be a period of morphing. The alternative is a coup that replaces one form of autocracy with another. I’d rather see the morphing occur, and a stepwise progression to new values. It took the US over 100 years to substantially rid the nation of racism. Stepwise. The first step was a horridly bloody civil war.

Judging from the way this thing ripped through the community, with everyone signing up, they certainly are. If the Barangay Captain . . . or his wife . . . endorses it, then it is good.

That is the Binay election model. Tight loyalties where he puts his arm around the governor who puts his arm around the mayor who puts his arm around the barangay captain and the votes just line up like lemmings. Four steps and a few well placed favors now and then.

1- A famous crook in my country interviewed on his way to jail once told: “Stealing 100,000 frank from 10 people isn’t so easy, but stealing 100 frank from a million is”. He was selling cheap stuff in a very successful pyramid style of organization.

Wealth is even more concentrated in the Philippines, lethal violence easier accessible, so people know that playing the numbers of participants is easier and much safer than playing the amounts.

2- In the US one can buy databases with names of people that were cheated in the past (according an undercover documentary many years ago). Why? People are easy to cheat again. Many reason “Last time I was tricked, so it is very unlikely to be tricked twice in a row, so I’ll take my chance”.

To the scammers: do not only scam, once finished, sell the names of your victims to your colleagues for some good money. (or sell to Napoles’ colleagues in need of fake beneficiaries, they will appreciate your wealth of personal data)

I don’t know of a book, but “Exercise makes a master” is a German saying. One of the safest places to exercise is certainly the Philippines (and cheapest to buy your way out). Start small, smuggle some shoes or cigarettes, sell some navy helmets, within a few years you can make it to the top.

I remember a friend who had been ripped of his retirement money about ten years ago by an almost the same organization that promised returns in investments way beyond anybody’s wild imagination. There were papers of incorporation or something like a license from the SEC and the plan was to retrieve precious metals that only the late dictator and his family had the access to, or possessed, secret maps.
I also met a man twice who collected money from my friend every time he came to the house to collect money which my friend was only too willing to shell out. My friend died without seeing even a “singkong duling” of the promised returns.
It will always be the same. People who are so good at scams and people who are just too naive and gullible to easily part with their hard-earned money at the mere promise of handsome returns.
As we say in Tagalog: “walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko.”.

There is a very pronounced current of hope that sees people flocking to the lotto counters or believing in superstitions or biting on scams. Perhaps there is a mathematical relationship, the more needful of hope, the more gullible of belief.

I’m reminded of the time in London when a guy dressed up in a natty suit and cap asked if I wanted to ride to Harrods on the double-decker bus. “I used to be a tour guide and can show you the sights along the way.”

And he was superb. Best tour I’ve had, looking here and there as he pointed out the places of distinction. Across from Harrods was a pub, and he offered to buy me an ale. We chatted for half an hour and walked across to Harrods. At the bottom of a set of stairs, he asked me if I wanted tickets to “Cats”. “The ticket office is right upstairs.”

I gave him the money, he walked up the stairs, and it was the last I ever saw of him.

About an hour later, as I was leaving Harrods, I went out the side exit and climbed in a cab. As I was climbing into the cab, an IRA bomb went off right at that side exit.

Talk about a day etched in memory. My first wife, a true psychic, always claimed I was a lucky guy.

“Sweetheart, it is hard to earn money honestly and properly. But is is harder to spend the money properly” – FM to IM (In IM’s words).

and she was showing a bank deposit certificate for 980 billion dollars???!!!

Indeed, faith and religion influence greatly Filipino politicians. That’s why these politicians serves themselves first and fill up to the brim their pockets with money not their own because they believe in the forgiving power of confession. God forgives all sins as long as you confess so they steal millions, give a portion to the church, ask the priest to pray for them, bless them, forgive their sins and go back and steal some more and then confess… and the cycle never stops…

in the same manner that the cycle of the Marcoses, Ertradas & Binays/Enriles never stop…

My favorite word of late is “discern”. Like be able to figure out that Ms. Marcos is laying on a pile of nonsense to avoid saying where the money came from. I discern that provincial Filipinos don’t always discern very helpfully.

“…pile of nonsense to avoid saying where the money came from.”
_____________

Google, Joeam. It will point you to a wealth of sources. You are free to believe what you want, which is rubbish and which is not. Just have an open mind.

I was telling in one forum, all that comes in and comes out of the national treasury is recorded down to the last centavo. Forensic accounting/audit would show how $10B was lost and where, to make a clear case against Ferdinand Marcos.

Oh, I personally believe F. Marcos was a liar and a crook and a ruthless murderer. His wife was and is a liar, has really lousy values and is an incompetent legislator. I know the government has a whole organization set up to try to get the money (and paintings) back, and I wish them every success. They’ve gotten some wins of late. Good.

That this is the caliber of “leader” the Philippines insists on choosing gives me a headache from slapping my forehead so hard.

I share Joe’s concern. It is indeed deathly worrisome. A new death to Philippine democracy may be forthcoming. I say…better to shoot from the hip than be caught with pants down! The NBI office in Tacloban ought to be on their toes already. In a small community, it is not difficult to trace the perpetrators. The municipal / Barangay official must be prodded to take action. More power to you, Joe. And thanks to Micha for that BBC Video. Imelda’s skulduggerous behavior is simply uber brazen. The Marcoses’ income tax returns cannot in a million years explain much less justify Imelda’s insatiable appetite for her acquisitions of “beauty.”

Her definition of beauty is original masters on her wall. Not a poor single mother being able to afford vaccinations for her child. Talk about self-consumed.

I corrected your misspelling. Society members get free editorial privileges. And frankly, it gives me some comfort to know that others have what I term the dyslexia of genius, a mind working so intensely on figuring things out that it forgets to look at what its fingers typed. So far, Dee is Genius in Chief. ahahahahaha

Looks like a multipurpose scam. Get money from the gullible and sell access to the database at the same time. Works for scammers, politicians, advertisers, sales and marketing, spies, etc. because it provides good demographics in addition to info that is even more detailed than census data.

Americans have became privacy obsessed due mainly to businesses getting their phone numbers and dialing them in the middle of dinner. Laws were written to stop that. The internet and credit card theft and ATM scams inspired further tightening of the laws. It now takes ID’s, pass words, secret codes, mother’s maiden name, a finger print and android-based DNA test to buy a book on Amazon. NSA, of course, has an all free pass to everywhere. I was reading this morning that Ex-President Jimmy Carter sends important messages by hand-delivered mail because he knows his computer is being tapped.

So I suppose there is a certain elegance to the trust that people here display that makes them vulnerable to these scams.

Ahahahaha, yes I suppose. I herein offer you P5,000 to trust me when I say that NSA is a well-meaning organization and there really are very few cheats and crooks in the US of A. The check is in the mail . . .

The Catholic Church of the Philippines could be a strong voice against corruption and vote buying if they spoke out as aggressively against that as they do against the RH Bill. The photo that I can’t get out of my mind is one of Gloria Arroyo standing in the middle of a whole herd of elegantly robed Philippine bishops. A Francis-style church would make sure it is not caught with its pants down like that ever again, and would seek to stand tall by condemning people who slander and make the Church impotent just by standing with the bishops.

Mr. Joe, this is again another example of how gullible we Filipinos are. How easy can we be attracted to easy money? Sometimes, we do not think or maybe we do, but we do not investigate or ask the right questions. I do not know, but the media and even by stories of friends and acquintances we should learn but still there are lots of people who fall prey to these ploy.

Yes, Filipinos are naturally gullible. Take the GDP increase for instance.

GDP increase correlates to increase in OFW remittances.
OFW scour for decent paying jobs-with-dignity, because
there is nothing the government can offer locally, and
the President gets the credit, when
The people made the GDP increase not the president
by OFWing

Thank gootness to Ate Glo she made OFW in vogue that it covers up the inutility of the government.

My first inclination was to respond that this is not trait belonging to the nation Filipino, but to all peoples in need of something more than what they have. But there is a tenor of choosing fiction over fact here that is very pronounced. If there is a rumor, it is pounced on. If there in information, it is ignored. My wife told her friends, our neighbors, who were filling out the form that it was not “real”, but a trick. They smiled and filled out the form. But still, I also think about Americans who grab onto conspiracy theories of aliens in Arizona or the moon landing was fiction or 9/11 was a CIA plot and are obsessed with showing that they are true. The favoring of mystery over fact. Fascinating as I think about it . . .

Thats only your opinion… as an officers of this community organization. we are try to help our nation. We are Pro family, God fearing, non-profit and non partisan or non political party.. we sacrifice for the sake of our fellowmen because this is a mission. and about you? do you think you can help us?

YOU MUST RESEARCH THEN.. WE ARE HERE IN PHILIPPINES TRYING TO SOLVE OUR OWN MESS .. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR SELF A PERFECT? WE DON’T CARE ABOUT THE MARCOSES AND THEIR RELATIVES.. WE AN ORGANIZATION TRYING TO HELP.. WE PRAYED THIS OUR OUR GOD.. WHAT’S WRONG?

SIR, YOU CAN ADD ME TO MY FACEBOOK RONALDSON EDEP THEN I’LL BRING YOU TO OUR WEBSITE: I AM VERY SORRY BECAUSE AS A VOLUNTEER WE SACRIFICED A LOT TO HELP OUR NATION..I AM VERY SORRY TO SAY BAD THING BECAUSE YOU ARE UNFAIR.. AS AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE YOU MUST RESPECT US.

Well, I reiterate, I don’t know where to find your organization’s official web site or charter. I did research the “bullion buyer” organization and a news article reported it as a “scam”. If you can be forthright and direct me to a better source of information, I’d certainly be better able to summon up respect for your organization if it is sincerely interested in the well-being of the nation and Mother Earth and indigenous people. But the more you avoid being forthright, the less I find it possible to summon up the respect you seek. Your facebook site does not specify much but just has a sharing of various articles and views. Just tell me where I can find the facts about your initiatives.

i did sign up only to stop my friend from pestering me.i did not provide the requirements.how in the world can i be a benificiary and what bloody fool
will give away their money for nothing.besides,the gov’t hasn’t paid the human rights victim during the marcos regime w/c are much more entitled to these benifits

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